Izzo staying at Michigan State

Michigan State Tom Izzo has spurned yet another NBA opportunity.

The 55-year-old Spartans coach has turned down the Cleveland Cavaliers job -- largely due to the uncertainty of whether NBA star LeBron James will re-sign with the team.

The school will make an announcement at a news conference Tuesday night at 8:30 p.m. ET.

"It's been an agonizing week as I tried to make a decision about a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Izzo said in a statement. "I apologize for the time the process has taken, but sometimes there are opportunities that come about that must be thoroughly examined.

Izzo, who has led the Spartans to six Final Fours in the past 12 years, met with Cavaliers officials on Thursday.

Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, a Michigan State alum, offered Izzo a deal worth in the neighborhood of $6 million per year.

"I'm no different than any other successful coach in that I've had multiple inquiries before, but this one was uniquely intriguing," Izzo added. "There was a lot of information to gather and consider and some of it wasn't easily obtainable. But when making a life decision, I owed it to myself and my family to do my due diligence. From that I never wavered. And I'm pleased to say I am here for life at Michigan State."

Izzo has had multiple inquiries from NBA teams since winning the national title in 2000. However, sources close to Izzo said the latest -- from Cleveland -- had Izzo seriously contemplating leaving East Lansing, where he has been the head coach for the past 15 years and sports a 364-146 record.

"This is the closest he has ever come to leaving," said one source close to Izzo.

But ultimately, Izzo was uncomfortable with taking the job and not having enough information on whether James would remain in Cleveland.

"Over the past week, Coach Izzo addressed a personal opportunity that he did not seek out," Michigan State athletic director Mark Hollis said in a statement.

"He owed it to himself to completely understand, evaluate, reflect and come to a conclusion that will be part of his life forever. And we owed it to him to allow this process to happen. Throughout the process, his heart was always at MSU."

With James in the mix, the Cavs job is regarded as one of the best in the NBA and would give Izzo an opportunity to compete for an NBA title immediately.

However, if James elects to play elsewhere, Izzo would become the latest college coach to leave for a sub-par NBA job -- following guys like Tim Floyd (Chicago), Mike Montgomery (Golden State) and Reggie Theus (Sacramento).

James officially becomes a free agent on July 1.

Izzo would have replaced Mike Brown, who was fired after five seasons and a 272-138 record. The Cavs also parted ways with general manager Danny Ferry and replaced him with assistant Chris Grant.

Now, Izzo returns to East Lansing, where he has a team capable of returning to the Final Four this season for a third straight year.

According to several reports, the Cavs may target former New Jersey Nets coach Byron Scott for their open position.